Not Just Another Christmas
by Yuli5ele
Summary: Sam does something stupid nearing Christmas time, and tries to make up for it. Now finished.
1. Default Chapter

Feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters. 

*****

Daniel and Teal'c stood at the base of the ramp in the 'Gate room, geared up and ready to go. Jack walked in, stuffing his radio into his vest pocket, MP5 hanging loosely from its strap.

"Ready to go, kids?"

Daniel turned to the control room window and pointed, exasperated. Through the window, they could see Sam sitting at the main console, typing furiously and smiling periodically.

"She has remained there for some time, O'Neill," Teal'c contributed.

Jack sighed,

"Hey, Carter, let's go!"

"Just a minute, Sir…" came Sam's voice over the microphone.

"NOW, Carter! You can play when we get back!"

Daniel looked over at him, surprised at his tone. Teal'c mimicked his expression by simply raising an eyebrow. Sam froze at his words, then shut down the program and bolted for the door, arriving in the gate room in a matter of seconds. Jack pointed at the ramp, before pointedly walking his team members up the ramp at a brisk pace.

"You have three hours, Colonel," General Hammond announced. The only sign that he'd heard was a small wave just before he stepped into the event horizon. 

*****

It took them an hour to walk over the rugged hills, following a winding, stony path to a small village hidden deep in the valley. On approaching the buildings, Daniel began to mutter excitedly,

"The architecture appears to be similar to the English Victorian age. And it seems we've arrived in the middle of some kind of festival!"

He gestured to the strings of lanterns across the narrow street and the bundles of evergreen branches piled to one side. A group of people were playing flutes and pipes further down and some people were even dancing in the street. Daniel approached them cautiously.

"Hello, we're peaceful explorers from a planet called Earth."

The music stopped and people gathered around them.

"Hello," Daniel tried again.

"Hi folks!" Jack added, with more of a grimace than a smile.

"Where did you come from?" one man asked.

"From a planet called Earth. We came through a device known as a stargate. My name is Daniel, and this is Jack, Sam and Teal'c." 

"My name is Sabit. I'm on the council." He glared at them all as if this was really important. When he got no sufficient response, he continued.

"What do you want?"

"We'd like to get to know you, learn more about your culture and things like that," Daniel responded enthusiastically. 

Jack sighed. _'Here we go again,'_ he thought.

*****

Two hours later, they were sitting at a long wooden table, heaped with food and jugs that, they could only assume, contained wine. Sam was giggling at Teal'c for no apparent reason, which caused Daniel and Jack to stare at her.

"Carter… what's up with you?"

Sam lapsed into another bought of giggles.

"I believe she has been drinking more alcohol than she should, O'Neill," Teal'c offered an explanation. Jack looked at his own glass and was surprised to find it nearly empty. 

"Okay, kids, I think it's time to wrap it up here and head back to the 'Gate," Jack ordered as he stood up from the table. Daniel stood up as well and wavered unsteadily. Jack reached out to him and grabbed his arm.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

The trip back to the gate was uneventful, apart from the occasional smothered giggle from Sam and Daniel tripping over a large stone he hadn't seen and splattering both himself and Jack in mud from head to foot. Teal'c was helping Sam along when she strayed drunkenly from the path, if 'helping' was the right word for it. By the time they got to the 'Gate, Jack was in a thoroughly bad mood and the other three were lagging behind to avoid him. 

*****

Much, much later that day, they sat around the briefing room table, Sam looking very subdued. She'd had a good talking to by Janet and General Hammond and was feeling a little embarrassed. She hadn't really meant to drink that much, but she was so tired recently and worried about… stuff. She sneaked a look at her CO. He was avoiding her gaze, frowning harshly at the table instead. She mentally sighed. They were all annoyed at her; she knew they were, with the possible exception of Teal'c, of course. Even the General was giving her stern glances. She slowly sank down in her seat. 

"…so there wasn't really much to look at, Sir. Nice people, good food, fun party. Don't you think, Carter?" O'Neill finished. Sam went red and mumbled something in the way of an apology. 

"Okay, Colonel. I think we're done here. Please all of you remember that it's Christmas Eve tomorrow and all missions have been postponed until the 27th, unless there's an emergency."

Teal'c stood up and addressed General Hammond,

"I would like permission to visit my wife and son, General Hammond, during this festive occasion."

"Permission granted. Dismissed."

Jack, Daniel and Teal'c left, talking about their plans for the next few days. Sam hung back, and finally followed General Hammond into his office. 

"Something I can do for you, Major?" the General enquired. 

"Uh… yes, Sir. Umm… I was wondering whether it would be possible for me to arrange a little something for tomorrow, for Christmas."

The General looked at her for a minute, before replying,

"Considering your behaviour today, I should be saying no, but I trust you, Major Carter, and I trust that if I give my permission, you will have this cleared up and out of the way by the 27th?"

A huge smile lit up Sam's face.

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir!"

With a nod from Hammond, she left the office, feeling much happier than she had been when she went in. She smiled to herself quietly. Now she knew how to get the Colonel to speak to her again. 


	2. Chapter 2

Janet hummed quietly to herself as she finished off a huge pile of overdue medical reports. It was a shame Cassie was spending Christmas with friends this year. Janet usually didn't make a big deal about Christmas, but this year, she was really getting into the spirit of things. Sighing, she thought to herself, 

'Maybe Sam or Daniel will want to get together or something. Yeah, that would be nice. I could even bake cookies…"

"Hi Janet!" Sam's sudden appearance at the door startled her and she jumped. 

"Sam! You scared me! What are you doing here? I thought everyone was going home?"

Then Janet noticed the big grin on Sam's face, and looked suspicious.

"Why do I get the feeling you've just had a 'fantastic' idea?"

"Well, General Hammond said I could arrange a surprise for Christmas!" Sam giggled.

"Honey, I think you should sit down before you fall over, okay?"

Sam waved her hand in the air dismissively.

"Oh, it's not the alcohol. That's long gone. No, I'm just excited about this surprise."

"What sort of surprise?" the Doctor was starting to sound worried.

Sam opened her mouth to tell her, and then quickly checked behind her to make sure no one was listening. Sensing the presence of an SF outside the door, and knowing how quickly rumours spread around the SGC, she bent down to whisper in Janet's ear.  Her eyes grew wider and she smothered a laugh.

"You wicked girl!"

Sam straightened up and her smile lessened.

"Do you think I shouldn't?"

"No, no, go for it!" Janet replied quickly, shaking her head. "If that's what you want."

"Thanks, Jan. I knew I could count on you. Now, we've got a lot to do before tomorrow night."

*****

Jack got back to his house much later than he usually would have. The traffic was awful out there, what with all the snow on the ground. At the moment, he was feeling very grateful for the three-day holiday they'd been given. He was tired and needed a shower and all he wanted to do was sleep for three days, never mind about Christmas. He made it half way the bedroom when the doorbell rang.  With a groan, he went to open the door.

"Hi Jack." Daniel pushed past him into the house, and then stopped. Turning to look accusingly at Jack, he said,

"You've been home, what, ten minutes and you haven't even put the kettle on yet!"

Jack looked at him as if he was insane for a minute, and then just shrugged. 

"What do you want, Daniel?" he yawned. 

"It's Christmas, whatcha think?"

When Jack only yawned at him again, he grabbed Jack's coat and keys and dragged him towards the door.

"Come on, you and me are going shopping," he explained.

"Shopping?"

"Yes, shopping! For Christmas stuff! You know, decorations, a tree, presents, food, stuff like that."

Jack stopped in the doorway. 

"No, Daniel. I'm not going shopping. I'm not having a Christmas. I'm going to go inside now and go to sleep. Goodbye, Daniel."

"Wait, Jack…" Daniel tried to stop him shutting the door in his face. He got the door open again and followed Jack into the kitchen. 

"Why not? What's wrong?"

There was a pause, while Jack sat down at the table.

"I… I just don't do Christmas. Not since Charlie died, anyway."

Daniel moved to stand next to him.

"Well, don't you think it's time to start again? In truth, there's nothing to stop you."

"I'm not in the mood, okay? Please, leave me alone." 

Daniel slowly sat down opposite him and folded his hands on the table. 

"Jack, I think Christmas is a time for being thankful for what you have and not taking it for granted. Just think about everything you have to look forward to, everything you have left."

Jack thought for a moment. Daniel was half right. He had a lot of good things in his life and a lot to be thankful for, but there was still one thing he lacked. One thing that he wanted so desperately and could never have. And it wasn't something he could get; it was something that had to find him.

"I know that, Daniel, and you're right. I just can't, okay? This morning… earlier, on the planet, I realised that this just isn't right for me. It means nothing to me anymore."

"Christmas is about your family and friends and the people that care about you, and that's not nothing," Daniel finished with a small smile. 

Jack stood abruptly and smiled.

"I'm sorry, Daniel. I just have to be alone right now. Some other time maybe."

Daniel nodded silently and made his way to the door, letting himself out and closing the door softly behind him. 

*****

It was about 3am and the halls of the SGC were deadly quiet. The few remaining SFs patrolled the corridors as little as they could get away with it. Most of the time they were to be found in one of the offices or labs, sharing random Christmas jokes. The commissary had been closed for 24 hours due to a burst pipe, apparently, so they didn't really have anywhere else to go.  One of the SFs caught sight of something unusual on his shift, so he bent down to take a look. There was a trail of pine needles along the corridor. Frowning, he followed the trail all the way back to the main lift, where the needles were scattered around and the trail was lost. 


	3. Chapter 3

The front door of Janet's house swung open and the two girls hurried in out of the freezing cold winter air, laden down with dozens of plastic carrier bags and boxes. Janet laughed as Sam tried to put some of her luggage down on the sofa and almost fell over.

"Are you sure we got everything?" she joked. Sam started laughing too and pretty soon they were doubled up on the floor in hysterics. Sam eventually sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes, the occasional giggle still escaping her. 

"Oh, we are a right pair!" she exclaimed. Then she glanced at the clock. It read 4.30pm. 

"Janet, quick! We're going to be late! We'll never have time to get everything ready!" 

She pulled the doctor up off the floor and pushed her towards the stairs, thrusting a few bags into her hands.

"Aren't you going to get ready too?" Janet asked.

"In a minute. I have to call Daniel and let him know what's going on. It wouldn't be much of a party if there was no one there!" she grinned.

"Very true," Janet replied, and with that, she left her to it.  

*****

A few hours later, they had everything they could possibly need stuffed into the boot of the car and they raced off to the base. A few people gave them strange looks, but they had managed to get the word around to most people, so they knew what was happening. Most of the SGC staff had gone away for the holidays, but quite a few of the SG teams and team leaders would be there, and it promised to be the best Christmas yet. 

*****

It was nearly 8pm on Christmas Eve and Jack was sitting in front of the T.V., drinking a beer and feeling totally relaxed. He'd slept all day and felt pretty good for what all the rest had done him. He did feel guilty about Daniel though. He'd seemed kind of offended when he left and Jack wished he hadn't been so abrupt with him. After it wasn't his fault that his best friend had been having far too many thoughts about a certain Major recently. No, that was Jack's fault. Although, the way he was feeling about Carter at the moment, she wouldn't be winning any favouritism prizes. 

The phone rang and he had lean over the arm of the sofa to answer it, and in the process spilled his beer on the carpet. He swore and hit the 'talk' button on the phone.

"O'Neill."

"Colonel O'Neill, I have an urgent message from General Hammond. He wants you to return to the base immediately, Sir." 

"What's the problem, Airman?"

"There's an emergency at the base, Sir. The General asks that you come immediately."

"Okay, Airman. I'm on my way."

He swore one more time for good measure, grabbed his coat and ran to the car through the snowdrifts piling up on his porch. 

*****

He arrived thirty minutes later, soaked from melted snow and not in a good mood at all. He didn't bother changing; he just hurried straight down towards the control room. As he got in the lift, he noticed a scribbled sign just inside the doors, reading,

'All SGC members please come to the commissary upon arrival.'

Intrigued, but also frustrated that he was now going the wrong way in the lift, Jack hit the level for the commissary instead. 

*****

The huge amount of people crowding around in groups was amazing. Most people brought a gift and their own contribution to the ever-growing spread of food. Sam was approached by many of the Colonels and other Majors from the other SG teams and congratulated on getting this under way so quickly. Many people were very glad they now had an excuse to celebrate Christmas; they didn't usually get the chance. Even General Hammond made it to the party and he approached Sam to let her know, if not in so many words, that she was forgiven for her unprofessional behaviour the previous day. 

Janet and Daniel looked around the commissary for Sam, who had mysteriously disappeared.

"I wonder where she's got to. This whole party thing was her idea in the first place," Daniel said. 

"I'll go and find her. You go and keep watch by the door for the Colonel."

Janet eventually found Sam hiding at the back of the kitchen, looking terrified. 

"What are you doing back here?" she questioned. "You're missing the party!"

"I know, but I'm nervous! What if I'm doing the wrong thing?" Sam replied, anxiously. 

"You want to get back into Colonel O'Neill's good books, right?"

"Yes…" Sam agreed slowly.

"And knowing how he feels about you, I think you stand a pretty good chance. It is Christmas, after all. The season of giving and sharing?"

"Yeah, but what if this doesn't work? I don't think I could stand to have my heart broken by a man I care about so deeply."

Janet looked at her best friend and hugged her.

"Life is all about taking risks and living for the moment, and you have my full support on this. If it doesn't work out… you can plead temporary insanity, a side effect from all that alien alcohol you drank, and I'll back you up! Now come on, before I have to drag you out there!"

Sam smiled at her,

"Thank you, Janet."


	4. Chapter 4

Jack walked briskly towards the commissary doors, well aware he was trailing puddles of water behind him, and not really caring. As he entered the main eating area, where the tables usually sat, he saw an astonishing sight. The tables were all pushed back against the walls and a huge fir tree stood right in the middle of the floor, decorated from root to tip in beautiful red and gold. Banners streamed across the ceiling, all directed towards the centre of the room, where the sparkling gold star at the top of the tree just brushed the ceiling. A number of tables to the left held various party foods and drinks, while those on the right were covered with an assortment of presents, all wrapped in different coloured paper. 

Jack stood for a minute with his mouth hanging open. The he spotted Carter on the other side of the room with Dr Fraiser, dressed in a long blue evening dress that shimmered in the twinkling of the fairy lights.

"Carter, what's going on here?" he said from behind her, making her jump.

"It's a Christmas party, Sir! I just thought that we'd all worked really hard these last few weeks and we needed some downtime and who doesn't love a party!" Sam babbled, anxious to explain her actions.

"You did all this?" O'Neill asked in amazement.

"Yes, Sir. Well, Janet helped me. It's an apology of sorts, for my behaviour yesterday. I hope it's okay, Sir."

She smiled at him hopefully. He didn't look at her.

"Well, why didn't you tell me? I'm not exactly dressed for a party."

Sam opened her mouth to explain, but Daniel came up to them and interrupted,

"Don't worry about it. I slipped a tux into your locker."

Jack glared at him.

"You knew about this?!"

Daniel utterly failed to look embarrassed or guilty. Instead he grinned cheekily at his friend.

Jack sighed,

"Alright, I'll go and change."

*****

When he returned from the locker rooms, looking much smarter and a lot drier, there was gentle Christmas music playing, sounding like a variety of different carols. Jack didn't even know what time it was, but he imagined Sam would be keeping on top of it. He wandered over to her.

"You know, Carter, I probably should be angry for doing this to me. I don't like Christmas parties!"

"I know, Sir, Daniel told me. But how could I resist?"

She flashed him a bright smile, and he gave in grudgingly, and smiled back at her.

The music smoothly changed to 'White Christmas' and the quiet relaxing tune floated across the room. Sam went pink and looked down at her shoes.

"Umm… would you like to dance… Sir?" 

She risked a glance at his face. He grinned at her, amused by her behaviour.

"Of course I would, Carter." 

He led them out onto the dance floor and, to his surprise, Sam stepped in close to him and put her arms round his neck. His hands automatically went to her waist. He was amazed at how natural it felt, when it should have felt rather awkward, given their working relationship. She gently laid her head on his chest and they slowly danced. 

"Carter, I never would have figured you for doing something like this. I mean, the party and stuff," Jack said slowly, not wanting to disturb the mood.

"Call me Sam," she murmured in reply. Jack stopped and she raised her head to meet his eyes. He looked a little surprised and fairly contented. She smiled at him and glanced at the floor.

"What?" he asked, as he smiled back.

She looked up at the ceiling above them. Jack dubiously followed her gaze upwards to see a sprig of fresh mistletoe hanging down right above their heads. Jack chuckled,

"You've really thought this one out, haven't you, Cart… uh, Sam?"

"Yes, Sir."

"That's Jack, just for today."

Sam looked right into his eyes and smiled softly.

"Merry Christmas, Jack."

"Merry Christmas, Sam."  He stepped in closer to her and kissed her, holding her against him as he did so. They quickly broke apart as assorted cheers sounded from all around the room. Sam looked embarrassed, but Jack put his arm back around her waist and discreetly whispered into her ear,

"It certainly will be a Merry Christmas!"

~~fin~~


End file.
